Marianas Dive UW Pumpkin Carving Contest

Marianas Dive held it's 2nd Annual Underwater Pumpkin Carving Contest on Saturday, Oct. 25. This sounded like a fun event last year, but I wasn't doing much diving back then. Things change alot in a year. I was so excited to attend this year's event. The only thing missing was having Mike Tripp there, too. But he'll be home soon. Harry and I went shopping for pumpkins the night before. We found nice big round ones, but they were $25. So we opted for the local version. I got a local squash and Harry got the local pumpkin. Here's my squash just before the event began. Here's Harry gutting his pumpkin. They smelled so good when we cut them open, I was tempted to take it home and have Sarah cook them for us. But we went ahead with the contest - yes, in spite of our art deficiencies. We thought we could still have a fun time. And we did! Here's Tami working at the registration "desk". And Mark busy cooking burgers on the grill. Moon is helping with flipping the burgers.

Rose is headed out to the carving site with her pumpkin in tow. Harry brought his pumpkin out to the site via "dribbling". He would bounce the pumpkin as far down as he could and watch it float back up to him. Our carving site was near some beautiful coral, and the sunlight lit everything up really well for us. Even the fish were excited it was pumpkin carving day. They seemed to really appreciate the pumpkin innerds. Dennis is working diligently on his pumpkin. And Rose is busy carving away on hers, too. Tami is working in the background. Here's my squash work of art. Ha. Yes, here he is. I think he needs a name. Any suggestions? He was truly mortified when Harry did this to him. Poor squash guy. I'm guessing the sea cucumber wasn't that happy either. Gross!Susan is modeling her pumpkin, with carved palm trees. Very pretty. Susan won 1st place. Brad is our underwater videographer. Tami is working hard on her pumpkin. Tami won 2nd place. Harry is beginning his carving. And here's the finished product. Alien pumpkin guy. Once again, Harry does mean things to the pumpkins. He's making his barf sand. I think he's smiling in his regulator. Dennis is hanging out near some beautiful soft coral after finishing his pumpkin. Harry is just plain hanging out after finishing his pumpkin. Where are those bubbles coming from?Underwater pumpkin showcase. And here we are, back at the Marianas Dive canopy. Dennis and Judy are enjoying a burger. I brought some of the dried cherries that my Dad sent me for my birthday. They were a real hit. But we also had decorated cupcakes and cold drinks - yum!Well, here are the contestants for the pumpkin carving contest. L to R is Susan's, Kelli's, Harry's, and Tami's. Close up of Kelli and Harry's pumpkins. I know you wanted a better look. Ha. L to R Tami's, Dennis's, Ron's and Rose's pumpkins. And finally here's the group, owning up to our carving expertise. We had a great time! Thanks Marianas Dive for putting on a fun event!